TABLE restaurant columnist Hungry Jess Big City shares the Pittsburgh desserts and sweets she’s been obsessing over.

I claim to have a salty tooth. I don’t mean I’m someone who shakes salt onto every dish and piles on the capers—actually, I’m not the biggest fan of capers, if this is a safe space to admit that—but I am someone who doesn’t center my meals around saving room for dessert. Or so I thought. I recently opened my camera roll … and proved myself very wrong. 

I can recall, through the photos dotting my camera roll, the memories evoked by the desserts that left the biggest impression on me. Here are the desserts that were worth pulling out my phone for.

Pittsburgh Desserts For When You Just Want Something Sweet

Berry Fresh Frozen Yogurt | Squirrel Hill 

When listening to one of my favorite podcasts recently, they mentioned starting a petition to bring back fro-yo, AKA frozen yogurt. The once-popular dessert—and after-school meeting place for high schoolers, circa 2013—seemed to disappear as fast as it appeared. The trend, as depicted in shows like Gossip Girl and in stores like Bloomingdale’s, faded.

But Squirrel Hill’s Berry Fresh Frozen Yogurt is still going strong. Open late—daily until 10:30 p.m. and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday—it’s exactly what you’d expect and want from fro-yo. It’s straightforward, with self-serve yogurt dispensers, and the toppings are the classic sliced fruit, brownie bits, and cookie dough bites, plus all of the sauces and syrups you’d crave. The Tart Original flavor, a universal standard, is my go-to. 

My theory for the success of frozen yogurt in Pittsburgh, especially with the second Berry Fresh location which opened earlier this year in Oakland, is the college scene. With their late hours and the price—you pay by weight—it’s a fun, easy option for dessert. Plus, with fresh fruit available daily, it’s a way to get some nutritious brain food. 

Butterfat Gelato | North Side

A newcomer as a brick-and-mortar, but not in practice—owner Lauren Brock started with pop-ups around the city—Butterfat is reinventing the gelato wheel. With weekly rotating flavors, I was immediately hooked on Jalapeño Cornbread and Pineapple Upside Down Cake on my visit. They were so delectable and flavorful that my friends and I couldn’t be bothered to find a bench or table to sit down and eat. Even now, I’m still thinking of the ripples of cornbread mixing with the heat from the jalapeño, and the cherry pieces in the upside down cake. 

Not only is owner Lauren Brock’s gelato and sorbetto award-winning—she took home the People’s Choice Award at the Gelato Festival World Masters Competition in 2023—but it also focuses on quality ingredients and is made in small batches. Before visiting, make sure you check out the latest flavors that Butterfat drops on Instagram each week.

Ippa | Lawrenceville

When I studied in Florence, Italy, one of the best-kept secrets was searching for what we dubbed “secret bakeries” in the middle of the night and early in the morning. You would use your nose to smell sweet pastries, knock on an unassuming door you thought they belonged to, and see if you could buy something freshly-made as soon as it came to life. 

The bomboloni at Ippa, a permanently parked food truck serving up pizza, sandwiches, and dessert, reminds me of exactly that experience: biting into a fresh, hot, doughy Italian pastry you want to savor, but that burns your mouth at the same time. Their tagline is “always save room for dessert,” after all … and I’m here to tell you it’s a suggestion worth listening to. 

Available in Nutella-filled and warm sugar-dusted, there’s no wrong order. Just be prepared to be covered in sugar or Nutella, depending on which one you order.

Sweet Tillie’s | New Kensington 

Who knew baklava could take so many different shapes, flavors, and forms? Not me, at least not until I discovered Sweet Tillie’s, located in New Kensington. Owner and baker Amy Johnson grew up helping her family make baklava in their kitchen at home, and as she grew older, standard baklava didn’t quite hit the same. 

So she blended together her skills and her nickname—Tillie—and opened a sweets shop offering  flavors never before seen in typical baklava layers. My mouth is still on the floor over the Cookie Butter Cheesecake Baklava: smooth and decadent from the cheesecake filling, it’s also crunchy and spiced from the addition of cookie butter crumbles. Sweet Tillie’s specializes exclusively in this one dessert, and the flavors range from Chocolate Peanut Butter to Amaretto to Chocolate Hazelnut.  

Not only is Johnson deeply rooted in her business IRL, but also online, too. As a fellow business owner with an attitude, I can’t help but hype up the videos she’s creating, while being unapologetically herself. 

Page’s Dairy Mart | South Side

With a six-figure social media following and over 75 years in business, the demand for Page’s is real. And I personally believe it’s worth all the hype. It’s truly an institution, even as the seasons change. People eat it up—literally—in the warmer months, lining up for Arctic swirls, dipped cones, or classic soft serve. Then they’ll grab a seat on the curb, or just eat standing in the parking lot. 

What sets Page’s apart, besides the deep following and the nostalgia, is the never-ending menu featuring local collabs and combinations you can’t get anywhere else. Like the Nancy B Cookie Sundae, which includes the crushed-up, famous Nancy B cookies, vanilla ice cream, and hot fudge.

One of the best desserts I had this summer was from Page’s: a limited-edition offering that was a collaboration with another South Side staple, 350 Bakery, and musician Noah Kahan, who performed to a sold-out Pittsburgh crowd this past July. It’s very cool that they partnered with Kahan, and the result—banana bread, maple syrup, bananas, soft serve, and chocolate chips—is still on my mind.  

Be sure to check out their fall menu. I recently tried the Apple Pie Arctic Swirl, combining an autumnal cinnamon apple pie-like filling and graham crackers. But it will vanish soon—Page’s closes for the season in mid-October and starts its winter hibernation.

Pittsburgh Desserts For When You Should Really Save Room

Senza | Etna

I cannot stop talking about Senza. I’ve said it before, and now I’m putting it in writing: Senza is an ideal spot for sharing a dessert. Their entire menu rotates, and I’ve never had a dessert I didn’t love. They curate an unforgettable experience from start to finish, including the music, the wine and the cocktails, and the ingredients. It’s the same owners as Bar Marco, so you can expect influences from their programming. 

Most recently, on a stormy night during an impromptu solo dinner, I almost didn’t save room for dessert. Which is why I am grateful to my server, Neal, for the nudge. It was a panna cotta topped with fermented grapes and an olive oil I can still taste on the tip of my tongue. It was everything I wanted to end a solo evening, AKA there was no one to fight with over the last bite. While you may not be able to enjoy this exact dessert forever, you can find iterations of it in the coming weeks. 

Café Du Jour | South Side 

Café Du Jour is a restaurant that stays on my mind. I actually cannot begin to compare what their team does to any other spot in the city. For me, it’s the closest I’ve ever gotten to dining at a restaurant that feels like a family member’s patio. Those feelings are exactly why I decided to dine here by myself on my birthday, and why they make dessert worth tearing up over. 

A specialty I have to come in for when it’s being served: croissant bread pudding. As a croissant lover, I cannot get enough of the flaky outside, buttery interior, custard-like center, and the addition of blueberries both inside and as a garnish. While too full to stay for dessert this year, I took it to-go … and they included a candle. It brought tears to my eyes, and that level of care and consideration is evident in every dish that leaves their kitchen. 

Discover more sweet treats throughout Pittsburgh like the best cakes, ice cream, and pies. And, if you’re craving other local drinks and eats, check out our guide to restaurants, bars, and cafes in Pittsburgh.

About the Author and Photographer

Jess Iacullo writes TABLE Magazine’s monthly “Hungry Jess” restaurant column, covering Pittsburgh’s dining scene. A New Jersey native and decade-long Pittsburgh resident, she’s also the founder of Hungry Jess Big City, a social media and marketing business serving local and national food and lifestyle clients. Follow her at @hungryjessbigcity. 

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